Pages

Tuesday, 19 December 2017

Now I remember why I didn't manage to get a post done every day last year...for the same reason I can't get it together this year.

THE EDJ (evil day job)

I'm 6 days into an 11day stretch without a day off. Half the time I don't remember what day of the week it is let alone trying to remember to write down what made me happy. There was a pause in the retail christmas craziness today when a sales rep brought us in some cookies. That moment when the sugar, butter, and chocolate hit my tastebuds was sheer ecstasy today. They also had some almond flavouring in them so there was a distinct marzipan aroma and flavour. I was blissed out.

Saturday, 16 December 2017

I think I remember why I didn't do to well and following through with this last year. As the big day approaches and my EDJ gets more and more hellish, it's harder to think about positive things. It's hard to even want to think about anything happy when I could sit here and fill pages and pages with complaints.
But, one step at a time and all complaints aside, I was happy to come home from work...and I was happier to eat too many mini eclairs. LoL (My beach body has been put off until next summer...or the summer after.)

Friday, 15 December 2017

9 days till Christmas! Yes, we have made it to single digits. To those of you who are sludging through the trenches of working retail this time of year....we're almost there! Stay true to yourself, don't let them get to you.

Thursday, 14 December 2017

Really, it was. It was my day off. LoL I laid in bed a read till the obscene hour of 9am, then I sat around in my cozy "Bad Side" sweatshirt and leggings. Did some christmas shopping, spend some time with my husband. It's was an incredibly wonderful day that was way too short.

I'm back to work tomorrow...and everyday...for the next 11 days. It's almost over for another year

Tuesday, 12 December 2017

I didn't get my post done yesterday. It wasn't a good day and my brain really wasn't in a happy place and it was a struggle to think of something positive. But, I watched Scrooged and that made me laugh enough to snap out of it...(there are some heavy spots in that movie but I fast forwarded past them.)

In the end I'd say my happy thoughts for Day 22 was giggling at some classic Bill Murray. <3

Today was better and I had a much easier time coming up with some happy thoughts. Hubby suggested we go for a quick tan after I got off work, and my 12 minutes of quiet basking certainly lifted my spirits. (I swear I was a lizard in a past life)

But, what really put me in a good mood today was that earlier my daughter sent me a video on how to make a wreath out of a hanger and a bunch of ornaments. So, on my lunch break I went to the dollar store and picked up what we needed.

It turned out so awesome! We're completely covered in glitter and I'm going to be vacuuming my carpets for eternity to get it out, but I don't care. It was fun spending time with my youngest and creating something really pretty.

Sunday, 10 December 2017

I was just about to crawl into bed when I realized that I hadn't posted for today! I would have been so angry at myself in the morning had I missed it...to be honest I probably would have posted tomorrow and changed the date, but deep down I would have known I didn't do it! LoL

What was it that made me happy today? Tonight I sat down and wrote my final exam for the online course I've been taking through Sheridan College. Yeah! I finished the course :) I will admit that many bad words escaped my lips as I worked my way through the questions, but damn it felt good when I finished.

And, despite already suffering from "retail holiday brain", I managed to pass the exam with an 85% .

Saturday, 9 December 2017

I'm sitting here with the button of my pants undone wondering how I'm every going to make it up to bed, and if my husband has the energy to roll me up there. My favourite part of today was getting to go out to dinner with out best friends. No kids. No work. No distractions. Just the four of us making jokes and eating a fabulous meal. It was so much fun!
But, I'm so full right now....good thing this chair is comfortable because I don't think I'm going anywhere for a while.

Friday, 8 December 2017

I wasn't sure if I was going to pull off a Friday Flash Fic this week. With 2 weeks left till Christmas, my EDJ is ramping up and sucking the life out of me... But, I did it :) And that made me very happy.

This
is humiliating.

Colin stared at the wall in front of him. Everything
about it was normal…tap, showerhead, running water., except that it was all directly
at eye level and he was covered in fur ….and female.

Christ,
what the fuck happened to me.

“Hey sweetheart, you’re out of sorts today. You
okay?” The hunka, gorgeous man currently soaping up his paw with a bright
pink sponge, reached up and scratched him between his ears.

Oh,
god that feels good. Before Colin formulated the thought, he
had already pushed his head against the man’s hand again. He tried for the hundredth time to talk, but the only noise his vocal cords could make was an odd growl and screech.

“That’s my girl, you just need a bit more love today
don’t you.” The man leaning over him scratched down his spine to the base of Colin's tail.

Fuck
that feels so damn good, but I’m not a fucking girl and if I knew what happened
to my cock I’d feel much better about all this.
Colin shifted his weight and almost slipped, catching himself in a split
second. Cat-like reflexes, I get it now.

Out of everything that had happened to him in the
last twelve hours, waking up in the form of an apparently domesticated, large,
cat, without claws, wasn’t the worst of it. It was the loss of his favourite
appendage that continued to be the focus of his attention.

The last foggy memory he had from the previous night
was trying to get the guy he’d brought home, out of his bed and out the door.
Hook-ups for fine, but Colin didn’t do cuddles of sleepovers and the guy from
the bar hadn’t been getting the hint. Sure he’d been fueled with a bit more alcohol
than normal. And yes maybe calling the guy a big pussy might not have been the
nicest. But Colin had no idea when the guy replied “I’m not a pussy, but you
will be.”..he was serious.

“There we go, baby girl. Let’s get your dried off and
out of the tub.” Mr Hunky wrapped a towel around Colin’s head and started rubbing
his neck and body.

I
wish I knew your name. Colin didn’t believe it was coincidence
that the guy who was apparently his keeper, was the same guy who’d brushed him
off a few weeks ago. Another crazy bar night and Colin had tried so hard to get
this guy into a bathroom for a quickie. He’d wanted to touch the muscles
filling out his silk shirt. But no matter what he tried, Mr Hunky wouldn’t give
him the time of night.

Now,
here I am, finally in a bathroom with you. You’re shirtless, gorgeous and I’m… a
fucking pussy cat.

Wednesday, 6 December 2017

As my first week is drawing to a close I've realized I enjoy thinking about what I'm going to post about. With the craziness of this time of year at my EDJ, thinking about positive things is good mental practice. LoL

Today was harder than normal, might be a combination of a lot of things. There aren't any windows at my EDJ and I feel like I don't ever see the sun. Which is a one way ticket for my brain to sink into an unhappy place.

So off I went to the tanning beds with my husband today. I know they aren't exactly healthy for you but a quick ten minutes once a week really helps my mental process.

I like laying there all toasty warm and cozy, imagining I'm on a beach somewhere. Ten minutes of peace and quiet and it's amazing how much I can get my thought process quieted down and semi organized.....or as close to organized that my brain will ever get.

Tuesday, 5 December 2017

My warm happy fuzzies today came from being able to spend some time alone with my husband in a dark room....while munching on popcorn and chocolate :)

We went to see Justice League. I know a lot of people didn't like this movie but it wasn't that bad. I enjoyed it. (It wasn't as good as Thor:Ragnarock) There was action and cool fight scenes.

The Flash totally stole the movie for me. Maybe because I write stories I'm a little more aware of character arcs and growth...and really Barry Allen (the Flash) was the only who had any kind of character development at all. He's a little bit dorky and a whole lot adorable. I hope they make a Flash movie because I'd enjoy learning more about his character.

Monday, 4 December 2017

I'm guilty of it and I know lots of other people are too. We don't want to be made fun of so we cut down something that makes us happy before anyone else can. That's something I don't want to do any more.

If you need someone to cheer you one, I'm here. Share in the comments if you'd like. I'll never poke fun of your dreams or ideas. <3

Sunday, 3 December 2017

Everything was pretty low key around my house today. But, I can honestly say something that made me feel happy is TEA :)

It might be psychosomatic, but the moment I'm not feeling 100% I shy away from coffee. Growing up, my mum's first response to any emergency, dilemma, trauma, boredom, etc, was to put the kettle on. (My Dad would wet a facecloth, fold it up and slap it on your forehead, but that's another story)

It's possible that I have drank my body weight in tea today. I have two favorites at the moment.

Saturday, 2 December 2017

What made me smile today...I want to say not much because I'm not feeling good and I'm a bit of a grumpy bastard at the moment.

I was freezing....like turning into an icicle, at work today. A sure sign that I'm coming down with something, especially when everyone else was complaining that the store was too hot. LoL I ended up popping down the hall to Ardene to get myself a sweater. I found not just a sweater but the most amazing t-shirt. This made me smile today and I instantly felt a little better.

Lilo & Stitch is one of my girls favorite movies. They are 18 & 20 now and they still both get excited when they see Stitch stuff. To be honest I'll be lucky if I ever actually get to wear this again because I'm willing to bet one of them will swipe it from me.

We're not Samoan or Hawaiian but "Ohana" has always been something we used to explain to our kids that family doesn't just mean the people your related to. We have lots of people in our life who are chosen family, or we've adopted to be part of our motley crew.

Friday, 1 December 2017

A "Memory" popped up on my Facebook feed earlier today, reminding me that last year I did a countdown to the New Year. Everyday I'd write about something that I enjoyed that made me happy. I won't get into why at the end of November I was feeling very negative and oppressed but I remembered enjoying the mental exercise.

I didn't manage a post every day, as my EDJ is in retail and the month of December will suck anyone's will to live. But, I'd like to try again this year. End the year on a wave of positivity and hopefully it will create a habit to carry into the new year.

December 1st....Day 31

I'm going to tell you about something silly I had a lot of fun with today.

My husband had a booth a THE BUILDERS SHOW at the Metro Convention Center in Toronto. I was there today to help out, cover the booth when he ran to have a smoke or get a coffee, but other than that I was free to wander around.

Now, wandering around a massive trade show devoted to construction is more interesting than I'd thought. There were lots of plot ideas floating around in my brain as well as character inspiration.

What I didn't expect to see were so many stress ball type swag...and I got quite obsessed with them.

As I wasn't there as a trade member or would ever be a customer I felt bad just scooping their swag. So I made a rule for myself that anyone I had a conversation with about their business then it would be okay. LoL It made what could have been an incredibly boring day into a fun one. Every time I came back to my booth my husband would laugh and ask what I got that time.

I managed to come home with 2 lego blocks (the guy said you can't take just one), a van, a toolbox, a brick, a green light bulb and 2 hard hats (white and yellow)

There were lots of interesting people there today and I learned some interesting things that I'm sure will end up in a book at some point. And now I have a collection of funky stress balls I have no idea what to do with!

It's Friday and you know what that means!! Another fun day of reading shorts and snippets surrounding the same inspirational picture. Courtesy of Elizabeth Lister and Friday Flash Fics. :)

"Hawkeye is the
sexiest superhero." Mitch lit a cigarette and passed it to Jeannine before
lighting another one. They both perched on a large decorative rock on an upper level
garden that looked out over a massive well-manicured green space. One of the
owners was doing favour for a friend and allowed them to use the gardens for a
photo shoot, at least that’s what the gossip said.

"Purple spandex or
Jeremy Renner?" Jeannine had never been one to read anything non-academic
unless he’d forced her to go to look at one of his comics. The fact that she
knew there was a difference surprised him.

“Oh, how about Jeremy
Renner IN purple spandex.” Mitch
grinned, that was a mental picture he’d save for later when he was alone.

She took at drag on her
smoke. Tilting her face to the sky, she popped her jaw and made a perfect “O”
before pursing her lips and blowing a straight line of smoke almost through it
before it dissipated. “I’d prefer imagining Jeremy Renner naked.”

“I’ll whole heartedly
agree with you on that one.”

Below them, one of the
models was posing with a bow and arrow as a series of cameras clicked and
whirred. Lights were moved, shades were angled and it all started again.

“Really, who makes the
connection between archery and underwear?” Jeannine’s questions startled him
out of ogling the picture perfect, high maintenance, boy toys.

“Who cares? It’s fun to
watch.” One of the models let his arrow fly…a whole two feet before it plopped
on the ground. There goes my Hawkeye
fantasy.

“Speaking of naked, this would
be much more fun if they weren’t wearing the underwear. They can’t shoot for
shit.”

“That would make this an
entirely different kind of photoshoot.”

“If it was, we’d probably
be getting paid better.” Jeannine sighed as she hopped off the rock they’d been
sitting on. Dropping her smoke she ground it under her heel. “Superheros and
underwear models do have one specific thing in common though.”

“What’s that?”

“Neither of them notices
the help.” She patted him lightly on the shoulder, “Come on, sweetie. We had
better get back to the kitchen and make sure lunch is set out properly, before
one of those pretty boys freak out because their single blueberry is touching
their carrot during their meal.”

“I’ll be there as soon as
I finish this.” Mitch held up his cigarette. “Just a couple more drags.”

“Don’t be long; the boss
is bitchy today.”

He nodded and winked at her.
She rolled her eyes before walking away. They’d been best friends since high school
but where her nose had always been in a text book, his had been in a comic. She’d
never believed in the fantastic or magic. He wished otherwise because he’d
wanted to share this news with her.

As soon as Jeannine
rounded the corner and was out of sight, Mitch tossed the half-finished smoke
to the ground. Hooking the cord around his neck he pulled out the pendant which
had been resting against his chest all morning. The sun glinted off the pale
purple rock. He traced one of the metallic bands with his finger and a series
of ornate symbols appeared, glowing brighter
than they had this morning.

I might have been unlucky enough to be born into a dimension
without magic…but, no one said I had to stay here.

Wednesday, 29 November 2017

Legacy Hunter is a multi-book
scifi-adventure series with romantic elements in the vein of Indiana Jones
meets Farscape. It is suitable for teens and adult readers. It is co-authored
by Chris Heinicke and Kate Reedwood

Book 1, Queen
Killer, available in
ebook and print July 29th 2017 on all platforms.

Powerful, beautiful, bio-mimetic energy
in its purest form. A benevolent gift meant to launch humanity into a new age
of space travel. They were the hope for the future. The key to the next
stage in human discovery.

But every gift has
its price.

Nearly a thousand
years after Earth took its place in the network of galactic commerce, the
planet is depleted of resources and on the edge of collapse. Can stardrive technology bring
the Earth back to life? Adventurer Axel Ryan is betting his life that it can.
But there aren't any stardrives left to be found
on Earth, and ships capable of interstellar travel are hard to come by. His
only choice is to enlist the aid of mercenary pirates to steal one. With the
stakes high, and the future of Earth on the line, does it matter he'll have to
betray the love of his life?

Keep your friends
close and your enemies closer has always been Element Cruz's motto. And it
couldn’t be more true with Axel Ryan. Drugged, abandoned, and her ship stolen,
she's more than ready to let the price on his head kill him. Except
Axel holds the key to saving humanity. And if there's one thing Ellie
can't refuse, it's the chance to win.

“I’ll bring her. Just go!” Axel picked
up Ellie, ignoring the way she winced and screamed as her left foot banged his
thigh, and hurried in the direction of the escape pod.

Smoke was seeping in around the
edges of the main door, making the red light of the emergency system a hazy
mist. The sound of stressed metal reverberated throughout the room. As did
the resonant hum of blasters being fired.

“This is all your fault, you
bastard!” Rose screamed at him, speaking aloud what Axel already knew to
be true. It was his fault. All of it. The betrayal. The
hurt. All of it.

The pod door slid open with the touch of
Rose’s hand. Her expression sparked with hatred as she pressed herself into the
upright harness of the cylindrical tube and reached for her daughter. Axel
helped Ellie into the other tether as he counted the seconds in his mind, willing
the main door to hold just a heartbeat longer. One, two, three—

Boom!

The stressed metal exploded, breaching the
room.

“Axel!” Ellie screamed. She reached
for him, her green eyes wide.

“Only room for two,” he said and hit
the release button.

The capsule door slammed shut, separating
the two women from his view. Then it was gone, disappeared down the launch
tube.

Safe.

Axel gasped for breath in the thinning
atmosphere of the room and raised his hands into the air.

If there was one thing in life he found
impossible to mistake, it was the cold hard steel of a blaster, pressed to the
back of his head.

Book 2, Star Keeper

Blurb:

Axel Ryan is running
for his life.

Pursued by bounty
hunters with a price on his head, he should disappear into the stars to hide
and continue his search for Stardrives. But his soulmate, Element Cruz, has
resurfaced and after spending the last six months searching for her with no
luck, finding her again is worth gambling his life. She’s putting her own in
danger by infiltrating an illegal slave auction where the Star Keeper of
Endaria is being sold; a woman with empathic abilities, worth more credits then
Axel can legally gather.

It should be an easy
mission. Crash the auction, save his girl, and fly off into the galaxy to live
happily ever after together. But the universe has another destiny in store for
Axel, one he’ll need to embrace to save them all, or die trying.

“Ellie!” Axel screamed as he raced through the door on the left of
the corridor he was in. Through a meter-wide window, he saw the tired face of
Element Cruz. Relief collided with panic and turned to rage. She was still
alive, but for how long? And why the frell did she have a fist-sized welt on
her cheek? The mark was dark red and stark against her skin, swollen and
painful.

He ran up and touched the window, her face on the other side. “Who
the frell hit you?” he yelled, not sure if Ellie could hear. When she stared at
him blankly he shook his head and added, “I will get you out of there!” He
could dole out justice to whoever had harmed her once he knew she was safe.

She gestured at her comm where it hung useless and broken from the
collar on her suit and put her hand up against the window too. She mouthed the
words, “It's a trap,” clearly enough for Axel to understand the lip movements.
“Get out of here!”

He glanced around the room he was in. Some kind of observation
chamber, he guessed. But for what purpose, he had no idea. Shiloh had led a
peculiar existence. The room itself was divided, a couch and table on this side
with a glass partition separating him from the other where Ellie and Iris and
Shiznit were held captive.

Iris had escaped her own bindings and was working on undoing
Shiznit’s restraints with her fingers. Ellie banged her fists against the
glass. “Leave!” she screamed.

Axel ignored her and tried the cell’s door, first with a tug on the
handle, then with his blaster, but the laser fire bounced off the glass without
doing any discernable damage.

Axel turned back to Ellie, so close to him but separated by safety
glass that would take more fire power than he could muster right now to break.
She may as well be on the other side of the galaxy.

But he refused to give up and let her and the others die. Darius
wasn’t going to win.

The charges. Where were they? A blinking light caught his eye by the
edge of the cell window. Rectangular and about the size of his palm, the explosive
charge had been attached to the wall. One of several, in fact, he realized.

He moved to the charges and studied them. He was no expert, but the
arrangement seemed simple enough. Square casing. Couple wires. Blinking red
light, the flashes increasing in speed. A countdown in progress? Shit.

The others banged on the window. Axel glanced at them but ignored
their frantic expressions and pleas for him to leave. He needed to focus on
diffusing the situation.

“Who am I kidding, I've never done this shit,” he said out loud. He
did know the red digital display was just that, a display, but that there was
some type of timer inside that was counting down to zero. The nearest charge
had been placed at his height, and he knew that the first thing he should do was
try to pull one of the wires out to disrupt the circuit. But which one? Black
or red? And if he picked wrong, would it instantly detonate and set off the
others?

Sweat poured from his brow like a slow dripping tap, and he quickly
wiped it with the back of his hand.

He could stand here and wait, or he could take a chance and act. The
others were shrieking frantically, banging on the glass. The right wire would
save them. They were dead for certain if he stood here letting time run out.
Fifty-fifty chance. Life or death? Red or black? Which future did fortune
favor?

He chose black.

Pulling with all his strength, he broke the wire free of the charge
with a snap. The blinking stopped and became a solid red light, glaring at him
with its brightness. A high-pitched whine filled the room.

Although working as a baker for
many years, writing has been a passion for Chris for some time, starting in
high school and reigniting again in 2006, when he first got the inspiration to
begin writing 'The Man In Black.'

After completing that project eight years later, he took part in NaNoWriMo in
November 2014, culminating into a project named 5PM. Deciding to
self-publish, 5PM came out in February 2015, and then The Man In Black in
August.

2016 saw the release of 7PM, and in that same year, his writing path met with
that of Canadian author Kate Reedwood. A mutual respect of each other's work
ignited an interest in working together, creating the Legacy Hunter series, the
first of which to come out in July 2017.
Apart from writing, Chris enjoys travelling, reading, watching movies and all
things geeky. He resides in Coffs Harbour with his wife and three children.

Chris will be at Nexus Con on
July 29 celebrating the release of the first book in his Legacy Hunter series.

Kate Reedwood, also know as Felicity Kates, is a
mild-mannered manager by day. At night, she trades in her high heels for bunny
slippers and lets her imagination run wild.

A trained artist and writer, Kate enjoys writing
stories that combine humor with strong characters who know what they want and
aren't afraid to go get it. Every story is an emotional journey where the
characters must struggle to find their happily ever after. But they do always
reach it in the end, no matter the time or place in the universe.

She lives off of coffee and dreams and enjoys
going for walks along the shores of Lake Ontario, taking pictures of whatever
catches her eye. A romantic at heart, she loves to snuggle under a blanket with
a good book to warm up the cold Canadian winters.

When not dreaming up new worlds and books to
write with Australian author Chris Heinicke, she can most often be found
enjoying the quiet company of her husband and son.

Friday, 24 November 2017

Each week a group of authors write a 500ish word snippet about the same photo.

Be sure to check out the other authors contributions!!

I'll put the links in below my submission.

Some days Kyle wished he hadn’t gotten out of bed and up until ten
seconds earlier, he’d believed today was one of them. That was until he came
across a beautiful man in the hallway of his apartment building, wearing
nothing but a book for modesty.

Kyle opened his mouth to say something but the man lifted one finger
against his lips asking for silence. An easy request to grant as Kyle couldn’t think of a single thing to
say. He stood there and blinked, not entirely certain if he was dreaming or
not.

The muffled sound of something smashing against the other side of the
wall caught his attention making Mr. Sexy wince and curse under his breath
before meeting his gaze whispering. “I’d wondered who my new neighbor was, but I didn't expect
to meet you like this.”

Of course you have to have a delicious accent too. For the love of
everything positive in the universe, Kyle, say something! “Wanyuuugh?” Too late, Kyle realized his tongue had managed to stick to
the roof of his mouth. If a massive cavern opened at his feet, he’d quietly
step over the edge to his death because nothing could be worse than the
embarrassment heating his cheeks.

“Adorable,” Mr. Sexy's lips twitched in a half grin. “You wouldn’t
happen to have a towel or even a sock you could spare, would you? It's a little
chilly out here.”

"Uh, yyy-es...ah, in...” Kyle struggled with his keys for a moment,
forgetting which one opened his apartment, before finally picking the right one
and gently unlocking his door. “Do you know what's going on in there?" He
opened the door and stepped out of the way allowing his nude neighbor to enter
first.

“I imagine they are looking for something I no longer have. Given that
fact, I felt it was safer if I hid out here until they left.” His neighbor kept the book in place but walked
across the hall as if there wasn’t a single thing unusual about the situation.

“There’s an afghan on the chesterfie...” His brief grasp of English slipped away when Kyle’s neighbor passed him. His gaze caught the way his back muscles flexed as he moved, a tempting tan line and then the sweetest pale bum. Curved with a light dusting of hair Kyle could easily imagine would feel
incredible under his fingertips,

“You’re quite literally saving my life here, thank you.” His nudist
neighbor dropped the book on the coffee table before reaching for the afghan
and wrapped it around his hips. “My name is Joel, by the way. And you are?”

Friday, 17 November 2017

While setting up my second submission to Friday Flash Fics, I somehow managed to wipe out the first one. Ugh! So my slightly elegant, marginally funny opening has been lost to the depths of the internet.

In a nut shell...Fun times, lots of authors creating scenes from the same picture and bad language ahead. Comments are always welcome. :)

“Fuck.” Jack shook his foot trying to dislodge the slush
that had invaded his shoe. Fucking rain, fucking
snow, fucking England “ Icy tendrils crept under his arch and wrapped
around his toes as the water made its way through his loafer. “I should be on a
beach in Spain but no, I’m in fucking London, in fucking January, on the one
bloody, fucking day it decides to dump slush everywhere.”

An old lady tisked at him as she passed, forcing Jack to clenched
his teeth together in an attempt to stem the free flowing litany of curse
words. His gram would have smacked the back of his head at the first fuck had she heard. Shoving his hands
deeper into the pockets of his jacket, he continued his trudge along the
Queen’s Walk toward Westminster Bridge.

“Kiss your mother with that mouth?” The woman, who carried a
frightening similarity to his Gran stopped next to him.

“Pardon me?” He pulled his gaze from the black Thames
flowing past. This is my contact? Are
they pulling them out of retirement now?

“Here,” she passed him a small bag. “You’re feeding the
birds now, lovie. Mind your mouth, all that cursing offends the clergy.”

“Fuck. The. Clergy.” He snatched the bag and shoved it in
his pocket. He’d been all over bloody England running errands for those pompous
arrogant bastards. Fetching artifacts and delivering summons, all because they
couldn’t find one inexperienced guardian. Whomever this guardian was, Jack was
markedly envious of his abilities, He’d give his left nut to get out from under
the Clergy’s thumb.

“Why does your generation insist on learning things the hard
way?” Her eyes narrowed on him and he could hear her inhale slowly through her
nose. Whether the icy spike that rain up his spine was from the freezing rain
slipping down the back of his neck or the old woman’s gaze he couldn’t be
certain. Either way he was fucked and had to follow this through. “Do as you’re
told and perhaps you’ll be a Guardian one day too.”

Jack looked up at the endless grey clouds above him, and
tightened the neck of his coat. “That’s never something I wanted.”
Unsurprisingly, the old woman had disappeared from his side and he wasn’t
interested in seeing which direction she’d headed. If they wanted him dead,
he’d be dead by now. His usefulness as a go-for hadn’t wined yet.

Keeping his gaze on his surroundings while avoiding slushy
puddles, he continued his journey. Removing the small bag from his pocket he
opened it and found bird seed? Why am I
not surprised? At least I know now my next stop is St Paul’s Cathedral. He swirled a finger around in the seed and felt
something metal brush the pad of his finger. Hooking it, he pulled it out.

Shock punched him in the chest and he clamped down on the
initial instinct to fling it straight into the Thames filthy depths.